1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a navigation apparatus and method utilizing satellites, and in particular, to a vehicle navigation apparatus and method for use in a mobile telecommunication system.
2. Description of the Related Art
Navigation applications traditionally utilized satellites for determining the position of aircraft or vessels and finding navigation routes for aircraft or vessels, but are now becoming popular with vehicles. As the demand for navigation systems in vehicles continues to grow, technology has been developed to determine more accurate positioning and navigational routes for vehicles. An existing vehicle navigation system only locates the vehicle via satellites, displays a map by reading map data from an in-vehicle device, and offers a short cut or the shortest navigational route the vehicle can take to reach a destination on the map. If a driver is not familiar with the area where his vehicle is located or he does not accurately know his location, then the navigation system just provides information about the location of the vehicle and routes that the vehicle may take in order to reach a certain destination.
A destination can be reached by utilizing many routes. If the driver is not aware of road conditions of any of the routes, for example, if a traffic accident occurs or if traffic is heavy on the route that he selects, he has no choice but to stay on that route until he can find another route to utilize. FIG. 1 provides a description of the many routes a vehicle may use to reach an intended destination. FIG. 1 is an exemplary map with the location of a vehicle and its destination marked thereon for a vehicle navigation system. The vehicle is now located midway between 10 and 20 on a horizontal axis and midway between 10 and 20 on a vertical axis. The coordinates of the destination are given as midway between 70 and 80 on the horizontal axis and midway between 80 and 90 on the vertical axis. There are many guide routes from the location of the vehicle to the destination. One of these routes is: to drive on road (01), to road (02), to road (03), to road (04), to road (05), to road (06). The vehicle can travel to the destination by utilizing other routes that can be taken along the roads indicated by reference numerals roads (08) to (27). The existing navigation system using satellites, informs the driver of the location of the vehicle, but it is impossible for the driver to know the current road conditions. A vehicle navigation apparatus reads map data and displays one of many possible routes a driver may take to reach a destination. The driver determines the best route, based on the displayed route of the navigational system, and then travels on the best route to the destination.
As shown in FIG. 1, however, if a traffic accident occurs on the road (04), which is not reported to the driver, then the driver will experience heavy traffic in that area. If the driver takes the road (09) instead of road (04), he will have to slow down because the road (09) is a slow-speed zone or because there is a traffic jam on road (09).
While an automatic guidance system may be employed in the navigation system to automatically offer the best route, it simply provides route information via a screen and voice prompts, which advises the driver of a short cut to his destination.
It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a vehicle navigation system or network, and a vehicle navigation apparatus in a mobile telecommunication system, which provides accurate information about road conditions along a traveling route.
The above and other objects can be achieved by providing a vehicle navigation network, apparatus and method for use in a mobile telecommunication system. In the vehicle navigation network, a vehicle navigation apparatus has a satellite signal receiver and a mileage calculator, which determines the current location of a vehicle based on a satellite signal and the mileage of the vehicle, and transmits information about the vehicle location from a mobile terminal to at least one base station transceiver system (BTS) periodically. The BTS receives a signal from the mobile terminal and transmits data to a base station controller (BSC), when a vehicle navigation service is requested. The BSC is connected to at least one BTS which discriminates a call requesting the vehicle navigation service from a typical voice call and transmission of a text message, connects the voice call to a mobile switching center (MSC) in the case of the voice call, and connects the vehicle navigation service requesting call to one of a plurality of asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) switches when the vehicle navigation service requests the call. The ATM switch is connected to a navigation server, for a handoff and transmission of packet data when the BSC requests the vehicle navigation service. When the vehicle navigation service is requested from an ATM switch, the navigation server receives information about the current location and destination of a vehicle, road condition information, map information and transmits route information to the navigation apparatus.